Clgaret snuffer



y 1955 P. R. MELLON 2,708,937

CIGARET SNUFFER Filed Sept. 27, 1954 .m' m M .5 mam @mwsw wuwaw ,PATRICK12. MELLON- United States Patent "i e 2,708,937

CIGARET SN UFFER Patrick R. Mellon, San Francisco, Calif., assignor offifty jper cent to Albert C. Arnaud, San Francisco, Calif.,

ointly Application September 27, 1954, Serial No. 458,329

4 Claims. (Cl. 131-237) The present invention relates to improvements ina cigaret snuifer, or extinguisher, wherein a vertically channeled case,pivotally mounted upon a tray and opening thereinto, operates inconjunction with' horizontally disposed and alternately inverted andupright troughs pivotally mounted in proximate parallel chambers in saidchannel, and gears operatively connecting said troughs and tray, toautomatically reverse said inverted and upright troughs to upright andinverted positions, respectively, when said case is moved outwardly froma housing on said tray, whereby a burning cigaret butt, deposited withinthe topmost trough, when the top of said case is moved outwardly fromsaid housing, may be transferred into a lower successive trough ortroughs, when said case is returned into said housing, and therebyisolate within separate successive chambers at intervals to virtuallyexclude oxygen and extinguish said cigaret butt, and finally depositsaid butt into a closed tray.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a new andimproved cigaret snuffer or extinguisher having improved means adaptedto virtually isolate and completely snuff or extinguish a burningcigaret deposited therein.

Another object is to provide a new and improved device of the characterset forth having improved means adapted to isolate in successive stagesand intervals a burning cigaret and extinguish the same.

A further object is to provide a new and improved device of the typedescribed having improved means adapted normally to prevent access oregress to or from said snutier.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved burning cigaretsnuffer or extinguisher having a greatly simplified and economicallyproduced construction, convenient operation, and also a maximumefficiency.

The improvement comprises the device disclosed in the drawings forming apart of the present application, and in which Figure l is a partlybroken front elevation of the device;

Figure 2 is a partly broken vertical sectional view, taken on line 2-2of Figure 1, in the direction indicated, with the several parts shown innormal position;

Figure 3 is a partly broken vertical section of the device, as taken online 3-3 of Figure 1, in the direction indicated, with the parts alsoshown in normal position; and

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3, but with the devicemoved to a receptive position.

Referring to the drawings:

The numeral 2 is used to designate in general a virtually closed traypreferably provided with a removable drawer 4, and an upright housing 6mounted thereon, open at its front and back and closed at the sidesthereof, and provided with an arcuate stationary toothed rack 8 in theupper portion thereof.

Pivotally mounted at its lower end within said housing 6, as at 10, isan upright case 12, having a vertically disposed channel 14 therethroughformed of a series of successive proximate and parallel chambers 16,within each of which Patented May 24, 1955 2 is a pivotally mountedhorizontal trough 13, alternately, beginning at the. top, normallyinverted and upright, as in Fig. 3.

The troughs 18 are connected at their ends by means of gears 20 which inturn are operatively connected with an idler 22 on said case 12 and withsaid stationary toothed rack 8 in the upper portion of the housing 6, asdisclosed in Fig. 2 of the drawings. A lip 24 on the top of the case 12operates as a handle by means of which the top of said case may be movedoutwardly from the housing 6 to the position disclosed in Fig. 4. Also,a suitable leaf spring 26 within the closed tray 2 has its free endexerting pressure upwardly against the bottom of the case 12 to normallyretain the same within the housing 6 with the inlet or top of thechannel 14 closed within the top of said housing.

In operation, the top of the case 12 is moved or swung outwardly on itspivot 10 against the pressure of the spring 26, by means of the lip 24.The idler 22, rolling on the rack 8, will rotate the gears 20 and rotatetheir respective troughs 18 from alternately inverted and uprightpositions to alternately upright and inverted positions, respectively,as disclosed in Fig. 4, which outward movement will expose the top orentrance of the channel 14 and the upright trough 18 therein.

When a cigaret butt is deposited within the top upright trough 18, thelip 24 is released and the pressure of the spring 26 will then tend tomove the top of the case 12 inwardly into the housing 6, which actionmay be assisted by the user and will reverse the direction of rotationof the idler 22. The gears 20, and the troughs 18, will then be returnedto their former positions of alternately inverted and upright positions,respectively, which action will dump the butt, not shown, from the topinverted trough 18 to the successive upright trough directly below,whereby said butt will be isolated from drafts or excess oxygen whichmight tend to propagate combustion.

From the foregoing, it is obvious that with each outward and returnmovement of the case 12 and reversal of the several troughs 18 therein,a deposited cigaret butt will be deposited Within successively lowertroughs, and thereby isolated at intervals, until said butt is depositedfrom the lowermost trough into the closed tray 2, by which time saidbutt will be totally extinguished and contained within the removabledrawer 4 by means of which it may be removed and finally discarded.

Thus, the isolation of a burning butt through several cycles and atintervals, will materially reduce and more frequently prevent accidentalfire hazard, since one or more butts may be confined and isolated,particularly through repeated intervals of isolation and confinement.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A cigaret snufier comprising a tray having an upright housingthereon, an upright case pivotally mounted at its lower end within saidhousing and having a vertical channel therethrough, a plurality ofhorizontal alternately inverted and upright troughs pivotally mountedwithin said channel, and gears mounted upon said troughs and operativelyconnecting the same to said housing and adapted to reverse said invertedand upright troughs to upright and inverted positions when the top ofsaid case is moved outwardly on its pivot from said housing.

2. A cigaret snutfer comprising a tray having an open housing mountedthereon, an upright case pivotally mounted at its lower end within saidhousing having a vertical channel therethrough open at its lower end andcommunicating with said tray, a plurality of horizontal alternatelyinverted and upright troughs pivotally mounted at their ends within saidchannel, and gears mounted upon the ends of said troughs and operativelyconnected to said housing and adapted to reverse said troughs fromalternately inverted and upright to upright and inverted posi- 3 tions,when the top of said case is moved outwardly on its pivot from the topof said housing.

3. A cigaret snutfer comprising a tray having an open housing mountedthereon, an upright case pivotally mounted at its lower end within saidhousing and having a vertical channel therethrough open at its lower endand communicating with said tray, a plurality of horizontally disposedand alternately inverted and upright troughs pivotally mounted at theiropposite ends within said channel, a toothed rack mounted upon saidhousing, and gears operatively connecting said troughs with said rackand adapted to reverse said alternately inverted and upright troughs toupright and inverted positions when the top of said casing is movedoutwardly from said housing.

4. A cigaret snuffer comprising a closed tray having an upright openhousing mounted thereon, an upright case pivotally mounted at its lowerend within said housing, and having a channel therethrough formed ofsuccessive proximate parallel chambers, said channel opening at itslower end into said closed tray, a plurality of horizontally disposedand alternately inverted and upright troughs pivotally mounted at theiropposite ends within said cham- References Cited in the file of thispatent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,892,046 Fairlie Dec. 27, 1932 1,912,598Snadden June 6, 1933 2,436,012 Meadows Feb. 17, 1948 2,492,025 ZecherDec. 20, 1949 2,589,989 lirunsvold Mar. 18, 1952 2,598,175 Jenks May 27,1952 2,661,747 Manion Dec. 8, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 342,200 ltaly July24, 1936

